Jane’s Mission

“I was eager to graduate college and start the professional phase of my life. So one January morning in 1974, I packed up my VW beetle with all my worldly possessions and $350, and set out for San Francisco to take on the world,” Jane recalls. “Within a month, I landed my first job. Not a career job, but the first job I knew I needed to have for at least a year to get the second or third job that would launch my career. “

Jane is passionate about giving college students the knowledge, tools and confidence to succeed, in large part as a way of paying it forward.

“I was lucky. I got my first job because I had a college education, some marketable skills and a lot of drive. What I didn’t have was someone to coach and champion me,” she says. “Fortunately, I found that champion at The Gillette Company, where I started my career in sales and marketing.”

“As the first female sales representative in a macho men’s product division, I fought hard for my achievements and, with the help of my champion, was recognized and promoted. My career prospered.”

“After learning the value of a great coach, I made a promise to myself back then: to help young people get started in their careers so they wouldn’t have to figure it out as they went along, like I did,” explains Jane.

Those were different times. Today’s job market is much more competitive.

“I started coaching college grads 15 years ago as a favor to friends with graduating kids. They turned to me because of my depth of experience identifying, hiring, training and championing young talent in sales and marketing for Fortune 500 companies and top advertising and promotion agencies, where presenting and selling yourself is a vital skill learned early and applied every day among clients and colleagues,” says Jane.

“Besides writing resumés, I helped them identify how to conduct a job search, taught them what to expect on job interviews and gave veteran advice on how to have a successful first year on the job. I earned a pass-along nickname of ‘Aunt Jane,’ because I cared more than a college career services director,” she says.

Instead of using a cookie-cutter approach, Jane focused on each individual and on collaborating with them.

“I worked with them to develop a relevant story from their experiences as camp counselors, waiters, life guards, hockey players, and college newspaper business managers to what first employers look for in terms of character, attitude and initiative,” Jane says. “In the process, I found they gained confidence; they learned to connect what they’d done to what mattered to employers, and present it with poise through their unique personality. And they got jobs—the jobs they wanted. This inspired me . . . I found my passion.”

In 2010, Jane decided to do professionally what she loved doing most: coaching and championing college grads to successfully land their first job out of college.

“More Than A Resumé is dedicated to two very important young men who inspire me every day: my nephews, who helped me fine-tune my coaching practice and who reflect my ability to turn successful college students into the successful young business professionals they are today,” says the real Aunt Jane.